Browsing by Author "Metz, Paul"

Now showing 1 - 17 of 17
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    Analyzing current serials in Virginia: An application of hte Ulrich's Serials Analysis System
    Metz, Paul; Gasser, Sharon (Johns Hopkins Univ Press, 2006-01)
    VIVA (the Virtual Library of Virginia) was one of the first subscribers to R. R. Bowker's Ulrich's Serials Analysis System (USAS). Creating a database that combined a union report of current serial subscriptions within most academic libraries in the state with the data elements present in Ulrich's made possible a comprehensive analysis designed to inform collective decision-making about serials. The results of this analysis, especially as they pertain to possible efforts to preserve subscriptions within the state or to add subscriptions to targeted new titles, are presented. Problems with using the resource and anticipated product enhancements are also discussed.
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    Automated library networking in American public community college Learning Resources Centers
    Miah, Abdul J. (Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1989)
    The purpose of this study was to investigate the extent of community college Learning Resources Centers' participation in automated library networking (ALN), to identify the factors which influenced or inhibited participation, to identify the benefits gained and the problems encountered due to participation, to identify the sources of funding for participation, to identify the involvement of LRCs in network related organizations and activities, to illuminate the influence of college staff in the decision making process for participation, and to assess the relationships, if any, which existed among the selected ALN activities and the institutional variables. A survey and interview approach was chosen to conduct the study which consisted of two phases. During the first phase, a survey questionnaire was developed, validated and mailed to 253 LRC directors of American public community colleges located in the southeastern United States. A total of 193 (76.3 percent) usables responses were received. Statistical procedures employed for this study were chi-square, MannWhitney U Test, and Kruskall-Wallis One Way ANOVA to test the appropriate samples at .05 level of significance. The second phase involved a site visit to three LRCs selected out of the 193 responses to further examine any significant trends or practices common or unique to networking which were not adequately addressed in the first phase. The results of the interviews from the site visits were recorded descriptively. The principal findings of the study indicated that community college . The majority of the LRCs had not yet automated the other functions. There were a few integrated or turnkey automated systems available in the LRCs. ln general, LRCs used regional and national networks for all functional activities. But, all four networks - local, state, regional and national - were used for interlibrary loan, resource sharing and union catalog database. Among the most important benefits gained by participation in ALN were sharing bibliographic databases, immediate access to network files, faster and improved services to users, and sharing of resources among network members. Participating LRCs mostly used their regular operating budget and received little or no external fundings. Incentive to participate primarily came from professional colleagues and involvement in network related organizations. Those LRCs which had no ALN reported that lack of financial support and limited institutional commitment were the main reasons for non-participation. The extent of automation and ALN could be predicted from the size of the institutions. Size of the institution played a major role in the participation in ALN. In most cases, there were significant relationships between institutional variables - location, enrollment, collection size, volume of circulation, number of LRC staff, size of annual budget and the extent of automation and ALN.
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    The Availability of Cataloging copy in the OCLC Database
    Metz, Paul; Espley, John (ACRL Publications, 1980-09)
    A sixteen-week longitudinal study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of OCLC as a source of cataloging data and to optimize the timing of searches for cataloging copy for various categories of materials. The findings indicated a high rate of success and, further, suggested that for many types of materials a holding pattern might be unnecessary. A midsized research library should be able to clear about half of its monographic receipts immediately, if it is willing to accept CIP copy. For materials not searched immediately, or for subsequent searches of materials not cataloged at once, the data may be used to determine the best timing and frequency of searches.
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    Building a comprehensive serials decision database at Virginia Tech
    Metz, Paul; Cosgriff, John C. Jr. (ACRL Publications, 2000-07)
    Although for many years academic libraries have relied on data on cost, library use, or citations to inform collection development decisions respecting serials, they have not fully exploited the possibilities for compiling numerous measures into comprehensive databases for decision support. The authors discuss the procedures used and the advantages realized from an effort to build such a resource at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), where the available data included the results of a zero-based faculty survey of serials needs.
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    Deviant fertility in China
    Li, Li (Virginia Tech, 1992-11-05)
    While most Western and Chinese scholars emphasize the success of Chinese family planning programs, this dissertation focuses on fertility behavior which violates family planning regulations in China. The study contributes to a better understanding of the Chinese "deviant" fertility by conceptualizing the phenomenon in a theoretical framework and conducting an empirical investigation of the issue. In this dissertation, the concept of "deviant fertility" is defined as reproductive behavior that violates current family size norms in terms of having more than the accepted number of children. An approach that bridges the sociology of fertility and the sociology of deviance is established. Specifically, the theoretical framework is based on the cultural conflict perspective of deviance, developed by Thorsten Sellin. The normative conflict concerning fertility in general and the confrontation between the traditional Chinese large family norms and current family planning rules are explicated. Three major data sets are used: the Chinese In-Depth Fertility Survey, with a sample of 6,654 Chinese ever married women aged 49 or younger, the Old-Age Security Survey of 220 married Chinese couples, and the Records of County Family Planning Commissions. More than 50 variables and a number of measurement scales are defined and measured. Descriptive statistics, Pearson's r and analysis of variance, multiple regression, and path analysis are employed in the analysis. Findings from multivariate analyses indicate that a number of factors are significantly related to deviant fertility in China. They are: (1) ideal of large family size, (2) son preference, (3) socioeconomic development, (4) type of employment, (5) area of residence, (6) failed pregnancy, and (7) fertility discussions between a husband and a wife. In addition, the analyses reveal different patterns between rural and urban samples in terms of the impact of individual variables on deviant fertility and different explanatory power of the models. Path analysis further enriches the knowledge of deviant fertility by identifying a number of particular paths through which deviant fertility is influenced. by the selected factors. Several relevant issues drawn from the findings are addressed, including relationships between deviant fertility and Chinese women's status, prevalence of son preference, rural-urban differences, and normative conflicts of fertility in China. Policy implications are also indicated.
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    How Institutions Think (Book Review)
    Metz, Paul (ACRL, 1987-07)
    A book review of “How Institutions Think” by Mary Tew Douglas.
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    Identifying academic subcultures within higher education research: an examination of scholars' careers through author cocitation
    Mead, Susan Virginia (Virginia Tech, 1993)
    Sociologists ask a myriad of questions about their cultural environment, the relationships which are formed within it, and the social products of human interaction. In recent decades, sociologists have begun to ask these questions of the scientific research community. They have been interested in identifying the social and intellectual connections which bring together scholars and their ideas, forming subcultures within academic disciplines. The present study, which follows this line of sociological inquiry, employs author cocitation analysis to identify the distinct subcultures which characterize the field of higher education research. The cocitation patterns among the twenty-one most highly cited researchers in the field are examined through multidimensional scaling, cluster analysis, and an analysis of the authors’ vitae which reveals the cognitive and social contexts of the authors’ citation careers. A unique temporal factor is introduced, dividing the scholars’ Careers into time periods based on the dates of their cited articles, in order to evaluate the extent to which author's cognitive interests and relationships change over time. The statistical analyses reveal that three dimensions and five clusters best characterize the author cocitation data. As a result of these quantitative analyses, and the more subjective analysis of the authors’ vitae, five subcultures are identified within the field of higher education research: Organizational Structure and Leadership in Academia, Impact of College Environment on Student Outcomes, Material and Nonmaterial Culture of Academia, Student Perceptions and Effective Teaching, and Hierarchy and Inequality in Education. The temporal analysis reveals that six of the authors move from one subculture to another at some point during their careers; these subcultural shifts are explained through examination of the authors’ changing research foci and career developments. The subcultures are compared on characteristics such as cluster stability, and the length and extent of influence of the subcultures on the larger culture of higher education. The unique contributions and the methodological limitations of this study are discussed, as are suggestions for further analysis of higher education research. Finally, the present methodology is reviewed in relation to its applicability to the exploration of other academic cultures, using several areas within sociology as illustrations.
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    Measuring collections use at Virginia Tech
    Metz, Paul; Litchfield, Charles A. (ACRL Publications, 1988-11)
    This study of the Virginia Tech Library collections brings together data on circulation and inhouse use, including that of current periodicals, to assess differences according to kinds of use, variations in measurement technique, and time period. Use of current periodicals is found to be both large and qualitatively different from other kinds of use. Differences between circulation and in-house use are discussed. Despite these differences, circulation and in-house use are generally similar in their subject distribution. The subject distribution of circulation patterns is remarkably stable over time, and can be reliably assessed using short sampling periods.
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    A proposed staffing formula for Virginia academic libraries
    Metz, Paul; Scott, Elizabeth A. (ACRL Publications, 1981-03)
    Formulas and standards play a needed role in the allocation of library resources, but it is difficult to devise formulas that accurately reflect the various factors that shape a library's needs. This report summarizes the means by which a subcommittee of the Virginia Library Advisory Committee devised a proposed staffing formula for its academic libraries. The subcommittee charged with devising a new formula reviewed past efforts as a means of determining criteria any new formula should meet . Based on this review and on its own research, the committee devised a draft formula , which is discussed.
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    Report of the Scholarly Communications Task Force
    McMillan, Gail; Metz, Paul; Powell, James; Zarnosky, Maggie (Virginia Tech, 1994-05-10)
    This report was distributed at the May 12th meeting of the Library Administrative Council (LAC) and put on the agenda for discussion at its next meeting. On May 19, 1994 this report was discussed, many of the questions it raised were answered and all of its recommendations were approved for implementation. This version of the report contains annotations (made June 24, 1994), especially to include answers to questions posed, and describes further activities of this task force.
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    A reputational study of academic publishers
    Metz, Paul; Stemmer, John (ACRL Publications, 1996-05)
    In both selecting individual titles and designing gathering plans, collection development librarians are strongly influenced by the perceptions they have about publishers. In the near absence of data that might indicate the overall perceptions the collection development community has about academic publishers, the authors distributed a reputational assessment survey to a national sample of heads of collection development in academic libraries. The resulting data on perceptions of the quality and academic relevance of selected publishers' monographs are reported and analyzed.
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    Revisiting the Landscape of Literatures: Replication and Change in the use of Subject Collections
    Metz, Paul (ACRL Publications, 2011-07)
    Circulation data from the Virginia Tech Libraries were analyzed to determine the extent of continuity or change between the author's study of the use of subject collections in 1982 and the present. Book circulation has declined, largely due to much less use by undergraduates. The overall profile of subject use has changed in ways traceable to changes in the population of active library users. Disciplinary groups who still rely on library monographs do so in ways strikingly similar to their behavior in 1982, and the findings strongly replicate the earlier findings that were most suggestive for library practice and the sociology of knowledge.
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    Serials pricing and the role of the electronic journal
    Metz, Paul; Gherman, Paul M. (ACRL Publications, 1991-07)
    The rapid escalation of serials prices is a serious threat to the system of scientific and scholarly communication. The growth of science, the increase in commercial publishing, and the inherent monopolies enjoyed by journals help account for this problem. Changes in academic reward structures and cooperative action by librarians, individual scientists and scholars, scholarly societies, and university presses are needed. The electronic journal may have a powerful role to play in combating serials inflation if its evolution is shaped thoughtfully and by the right hands.
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    A social history of madness or, who's buying this round - anticipating and avoiding gaps in collection development
    Metz, Paul; Foltin, Bela (ACRL Publications, 1990-01)
    Both the internal organization of collection development and the nature of science and scholarship lead to inevitable gaps in collection development. The discussion identifies both nondisciplinary and interdisciplinary areas especially vulnerable to such oversight and suggests remedies to prevent the undue perpetuation of gaps.
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    Thinking Big: A Commentary on the Research Agenda in Academic Librarianship
    Metz, Paul (ACRL Publications, 1985-09)
    Library-related research has not fully realized its potential, in part because of its narrow focus. A perspective that approaches the academic library from the patron's point of view may lead to better results. Fundamental questions with broad policy implications remain to be asked about our collections and their use, about costs, and about both the academic setting itself and the people who work within it.
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    User Response to and Knowledge about an Online Catalog
    Steinberg, David; Metz, Paul (ACRL Publications, 1984-01)
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    Virginia Tech's Innovative College Librarian Program
    Seamans, Nancy H.; Metz, Paul (ACRL Publications, 2002-07)
    In 1994, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) Libraries founded a College Librarian Program. Begun with four librarians serving four colleges, it has since grown to include eleven librarians providing comprehensive library services to the six of Virginia Tech's eight colleges not served by branch libraries. Other authors have described the early history of the program or outlined some of its specific elements.' By reviewing how the program came to be, by analyzing the choice points it presents, especially from an administrative perspective, and by discussing its benefits and costs from a university point of view, the authors hope to illuminate an exciting and potentially beneficial approach that other large institutions might seek to adapt to their own missions.